The Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante

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#wtbasel / The ultimate in high-quality materials, they bring their nobility, solidity and sobriety to these timepieces.

Press release

Bell & Ross creates Haute Horlogerie for men for whom time is not only a tool but also a genuine passion. In its quest for the essential, Bell & Ross has created a grand complication with an original display and perfect legibility: the Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante.

 

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The Finest Expertise

From its creation, Bell & Ross has always chosen excellence. Bell & Ross watches are developed and assembled at the watchmaking workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The firm, which aims not only to perpetuate the art of Swiss watchmaking but also to satisfy its own quest for perfection, employs the greatest specialists in Haute Horlogerie to develop its specific calibers. To produce the Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante, for instance, Bell & Ross called on the ingenuity of Vincent Calabrese.


A Sophisticated Complication with Simplified Legibility

This complication is unusual in that it displays the hours in the form of numerals viewed through a large fixed aperture. The hour hand is replaced by a rotating disc on which the hours are printed. The digits jump instantly when the hour changes. The window, located at 12 o'clock, is perfectly aligned with the single central minute hand and the power reserve indicator at 6 o'clock, arranging the information by order of importance. The power reserve indicator becomes particularly useful since the mechanism triggering the «jump» in the hours requires power. It gives the user an indication of the remaining power, which is vital for the smooth functioning of the movement. This indicator is displayed in an easily legible semi-circular window at 6 o'clock.


A Precious Finish and a Magnified Legibility

The cases of the two complications are adorned with two prestigious materials: pink gold and platinum.The ultimate in high-quality materials, they bring their nobility, solidity and sobriety to these timepieces, while remaining loyal to the watch-making firm's design principles. The movement and its immaculate finishes, the blue-steel screws, circular-grained mainplate, oscillating weight and bridges decorated with «Côtes de Genève» are viewed through the sapphire crystal on the caseback. In its platinum version, the Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante features a second window for the power reserve indicator. Its opaline grey and silvered dial in 18K gold with its hand-applied guilloché decoration and pear-shaped blue-steel hand lend it a timeless elegance. The pink gold version is enhanced by an opaline pearl dial decorated with finely elegant markers indicated by pear-shaped blue-steel hand. The power reserve indicator is displayed discretely and in perfect harmony with the dial. Like the VINTAGE WW1 line, the Vintage WW1 Heure Sautante models, with their generous diameter (42mm), horns that replicate original wire handles soldered to the case and their narrow strap, are reminiscent of the first wrist watches. These new models also stand out for the softness of their curved features, making for a perfectly comfortable fit on the wrist.

 

 

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These two timepieces embody Bell & Ross's expertise in watch-making. Their elegance emphasizes the nobility of their refined lines. They brilliantly combine the complexity of a mechanical movement with the simplicity of a completely new reading system. Bell & Ross therefore perfectly succeeds in its original mission of harnessing technology to promote legibility.


Technical specifications

Pink gold
Movement: jumping hour, automatic winding movement. Bluesteel
screws, circular-grained mainplate, oscillating weight and
bridges decorated with «Côtes de Genève».
Case: 42 mm. Satin-brushed 18K pink gold. Sapphire caseback.
Functions: Hours indicator (window at 12 o'clock), minutes
(central hand) and power reserve (at 6 o'clock).
Dial: opaline pearl.
Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire.
Water resistance: 100 meters.
Strap: alligator.
Buckle: 18K pink gold.

Platinum
Movement: jumping hour, automatic winding movement Bluesteel
screws, circular-grained mainplate, oscillating weight and
bridges decorated with «Côtes de Genève».
Case: 42 mm. Satin-brushed platinum. Sapphire caseback.
Functions: Hours indicator (window at 12 o'clock), minutes
(central hand) and power reserve (at 6 o'clock).
Dial: opaline grey and silvered dial in 18K gold hand-applied
guilloché decoration.
Crystal: anti-reflective sapphire.
Water resistance: 100 meters.
Strap: alligator.
Buckle: platinum.

 

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